旭硝子財団助成研究成果報告2023

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103Pichaya IN-NA104Rueangwit SAWANGKEAW105Chaiyaboot ARIYACHETBioelectricity production from algal biosolar cells with a nature-inspired honeycomb structured system(Project 2022)Ethanol as Extracting and Reacting Solvents for Biodiesel Production from Spent Coffee Grounds in Supercritical Condition(Project 2022)Development of personalized three-dimensional (3D) organoids for studying and testing bioactivity of Thai herb-derived compounds(Project 2022)旭硝子財団　助成研究成果報告（2023）76Biophotovoltaic systems (BPVs) or also called “biosolar cells” are processes that utilize living oxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms (such as microalgae or cyanobacteria) for converting sunlight and water into bioelectricity. Despite recent advancement in BPVs, power output is still very low compared to typical solar cells, and most BPV designs still struggle to provide an effective light distribution. Here, the effect of nature-inspired structure systems (honeycomb and diamond patterns) on bioelectricity production from algal bio-solar cells was studied. Chlorella species and Chlorella vulgaris TISTR 8580 were tested and evaluated by immobilized onto copper electrodes with formulated acrylic polymer solutions. Compared to the planar-patterned systems (control), the diamond-patterned algal biosolar cell with immobilized Chlorella vulgaris TISTR 8580 increased the power output by 12 folds and achieved the highest power output being 0.023 mW m-2. This study showed that the nature-inspired structures can enhance electrical outputs for algal biosolar cells.This work presents the use of ethanol and spent coffee grounds (SCG) as feedstock for biodiesel production to solve ethanol overproduction and biodiesel feedstock shortage problems simultaneously. SCG oil (SCGO) was obtained from SCG via ethanolic extraction, and the ethanol–SCGO mixture was transesterified under supercritical conditions without ethanol removal. The ethanolic extraction curves of SCG at temperatures of 50°C–70°C were constructed. Transesterification experiments were studied in a 4.38 mL batch reactor and a 130 mL continuous reactor at various temperatures (275°C–350°C) and reaction times (5–40 min) at 15.0 MPa. The ethanol-to-SCGO molar ratio was set to 30:1. The highest content of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) in the batch reactor was 88.37 ± 3.00 wt%, which was found in the biodiesel obtained at 275°C and 40 min. Furthermore, high temperatures (<300°C) and long reaction times (<20 min) induced thermal degradation and reduced the amount of ethyl linoleate. For the continuous reactor, he maximum FAEE content was 83.38 ± 5.86 wt%, which was observed at 325°C and a residence time of 29.4 min. Unlike in the batch reactors, the thermal degradation of ethyl linoleate was not observed in the continuous reactor. Therefore, ethanolic extraction and supercritical transesterification are alternative means of obtaining biodiesel from SCG without removing the extractant and using a catalyst.Identifying bioactive compounds from Thai medicinal plants is a key national research agenda with potential development of new drugs and diet supplements; however, actual benefits and molecular understanding of these compounds remain uncertain partly due to lack of physiologically relevant models for investigating bioactivity. Current studies in Thailand rely on two-dimensional (2D) cell lines which largely fail to capture